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Auction: 5011 - Stamps & Covers of the World
Lot: 721

Crime and Punishment Punishment Transportation 1840 (9 Oct.) entire letter from Sydney to London, showing red oval Paid Ship Letter Sydney d.s., the writer complains bitterly about the Government´s decision to abolish the system of ´Assignment´ of convicts in the Colonies, whereby male prisoners were supplied as cheap labour to local farms and businesses, the female prisoners almost always used as domestic servants for the wealthy. This ´system´ had long been criticised by reformers in Britain who claimed that it was little better than slavery as the convicts received little or no pay, some even suggested that Transportation had become a ´business´ in itself and that there was connivance between some senior establishment figures in Britain who had financial interests in Australia and therefore a vested interest in ensuring a constant supply of wage-free convict labour. Photo Estimate £ 200-250

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£140